Peanuts Recipes Food Cooking International Guide
Peanuts Are A Popular Delicious Snack
By John Cranby
Peanuts are quite popular as a tasty snack when visitors come
to your place, when watching television or just relaxing with
your friends. Quite often people eat peanuts to cut the amount
of smoking and drink less alcohol.
This is why you will find peanuts available in bars and other
social venues, where lots of people gather.
A Large Selection Of Peanuts
If you go to a gourmet food store today, you will see there is
a large range of peanuts to review your options. From the raw
shelled unsalted peanuts, the roasted unshelled salted peanuts
to the chocolate covered peanuts.
In order to understand the popularity of peanuts today, one should
look at the history and origin of peanuts.
Peanuts Are Indigenous To South America
The humble peanut is indigenous to South America, growing in
the tropical regions. Although enjoyed by native peoples as a
delicious food, the strange seed was also used in healing ceremonies,
a practice that later became common in parts of Europe.
Even the shells were ground and used in medicinal preparations.
Thought to have magical medicinal qualities, it was used by the
Spanish to cure the sick. A staple of Civil war soldiers, the
nut soon gained popularity among wealthy gourmets.
Peanuts In The Rainforests Of South America
When the Spanish came to America in 1492, they later made their
way down to the tropical areas of South America. A foliage-rich
jungle area, Spaniards were enticed by all the wonders of the
rain forest.
Strange birds and odd creatures weren’t the only things that
caught their eye. Seeing natives consuming peanuts gave the foreigners
courage to try the funny looking nuts.
Peanuts Were An Exotic Treat To Bring Back To Europe
Before then, they were afraid of eating any unknown foods they
came upon. Among other things, the peanuts were soon hailed by
the Spaniards as an exotic treat to bring back to Europe. So began
the peanuts’ world travels.
Bags upon bags of the nuts were carted to Europe. The Spanish
touted this tasty nut as a rare and exotic food, and it soon became
a European delicacy. Only the rich and powerful could afford this
new luxury.
When people learned to grow the plant in Europe, this nut no
longer commanded a high price; They flourished for both rich and
poor!
Origin Of Salted Nuts
Because the poor habitually salted almost everything, the peanut
would soon fall victim to the preserving technique. This is when
salted nuts came into vogue.
In America, during the 1700’s and 1800’s, alongside African slaves,
the nuts were traded as an exotic food from far-away lands. During
the Civil War, soldiers were constantly hungry, and favored snacks
that could be quickly consumed while on the move.
Peanuts Are Popular Snacks
Today, peanuts are living out their humble existence as an airline
and ball game favorite. They’ve spawned a host of products, such
as peanut butter and in chocolate covered, barbecue and spicy-flavored
forms.
From its South American origins, the adventurous nut has traveled
around the world, earning its’ place in both history books
and cookbooks as a healing, delicious and nutritious food.
Many Variations For You TO Choose
Once only for the rich, they have become an everyday food everyone
can afford. Perhaps that’s where the phrase, "I’ll
work for peanuts", came into use.
You can now go to the gourmet food store and buy a variety of
peanuts, ranging from the raw unsalted peanuts in the shell to
roasted and salted peanuts. Don’t forget the delicious chocolate
covered peanuts. The range is so huge, you may end up buying a
bag of raw shelled peanuts, a bag of unshelled raw peanuts and
a bag of raw salted peanuts.
All these variations should satisfy all your family need for
peanuts.
About the Author:
John Cranby has written a number of articles on food, cooking, coffee, chocolate, candy making and cakes including
Pumpkin Seeds,
Make Chocolate Truffles,
Cake Decorating Supplies,
Anniversary Gift Baskets,
Coffee Houses,
Herbal Teas,
Candy Making,
Candy Molds,
Salt Water Taffy.
Keep a lookout for more of his articles on this site.
Did You Know?
How do organic foods affect the land?
Since organic farmers do not use the conventional
pesticides to rid their crops of blight, or in the case of animal
farmers not using antibiotics or growth hormones, larger plots
of land must be used. They must plant more crops to account for
the loss from disease or insects.
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